One False Move
by shinyget
Summary: What starts off as a typical treasure hunt for Rouge turns into an unexpected battle.


_How could I let this happen?!_ Thoughts were racing through her head. This was no situation any respectable thief would find themselves in. She made one false move, a simple mistake only an amateur would make, and she had set off the alarm. What had started off as a typical treasure hunt through one of the Doctor's bases had quickly turned into an uneven battle.

Needless fights such as these were something she avoided. Rouge prided herself in being one of the best, always sticking to the shadows and finding subtle, indirect ways to liberate her prizes from their owners. She was in a risky business, where one wrong step could cost her a lot more than she was willing to give up, and she was re-learning that now.

Surrounded not only on the ground, but in the air, escape looked like an impossibility unless she took out some of the robot guards that had flooded the room. With a determined glint in her eyes and a slight frown, she set off to work. Mechanical bodies fell around her as she dealt out deadly blows with her iron boots. The bat ignored the pain of close calls as metal arms seemingly flew towards her, leaving scrapes in their wake, but never landing a direct hit.

She sidestepped attacks, thinning the number of enemies with well-placed drill dives and bracing herself against lucky blows. Tired and battered, Rouge's reaction time was noticeably slowing. The thief wasn't sure how much longer she could keep this up, but if she was to die here, she was going to go down fighting and take out as many of the robotic bastards as she could. In the moment it took for that thought to flash through her mind, a hefty right-hook was landed on the back of her skull, causing her to fall to the ground.

_Shit…_ Her hand instinctively went to the back of her head to protect it as she looked over her shoulder at her attacker. Her stomach wrenched at the thought that this could be the end. Here she was, in the middle of Eggman's base and she was going to be killed by one his pesky robots. She always thought her death would be more glorious than this.

Rouge shakily tried to stand up, glaring at the robot that was revving up for the final blow. It was then that she heard an explosive sound and the crumbling of a wall. The noise drew all attention away from her, giving her plenty of time to finish off her would-be killer. As she did so, she looked to see who had inadvertently saved her life. Whoever it was had already started pummeling the robots nearby and it didn't take her long to spot the bright shade of red among the mechanical bodies.

Not to be outdone by her rival, she began fighting with renewed strength. There was no way she was going to let Knuckles see her on the ground in weakness like she had been moments before. Both combatants smashed through the guards' defenses, leaving heaps of junk behind as they moved to the next foe. Neither Knuckles nor Rouge said a word to the other as they fought; only exchanging glances as they silently competed.

When the dust had finally settled, the two stood and stared at each other. Despite being worn out, covered in cuts, and dealing with a constant throb of pain in her head, Rouge stood firm, not wanting to show any signs of the pain she was in or that she was actually grateful for his appearance.

The silence was broken by a shout coming from the other side of the large hole in the wall as a familiar blue hedgehog peeked his head in. "Hey, Knucklehead! Eggman's this way!"

With that, the echidna rejoined his companion, only glancing back at Rouge once before they vanished out of sight.

A sigh escaped her lips as she looked at the destruction around her. She was tired and ready to head home for the day. Treasure could wait until she regained her strength. Slowly and carefully, Rouge made her way across the room and through the hole Knuckles had made. Her gaze drifted towards where the echidna and hedgehog had run off. A small smile graced her lips as she muttered, "…Thank you…"


End file.
